As all the beautiful flower arrangements you’ve received start to wilt, and you’ve heard one too many ridiculous comments (seriously- who tells someone that their unborn baby is in a better place? A better place than with me, their own mother? Oy!), the time comes to get really busy with some projects. At least that’s how grieving goes with me.
Here’s what happens when your name is Hilary and you’re in nesting mode: you get all Gung-ho to start renovations, you start with what comes most naturally to you (running to the paint store), and then you get ahead of yourself and realize you’ll be held up for a while. You wait, impatiently, as the rest sloooowwwlly falls together. This is where I’m at with Isla’s big girl room.
Status Check: So far the room is completely painted in two coats of Benjamin Moore’s Gentle Butterfly and two coats of Cloud White for the trim. I am extremely happy with my choice of Gentle Butterfly-it’s a soft tutu pink that looks great in every light- it’s not one of those colours that plays tricks on you and suddenly turns to periwinkle when the sun goes down. I’m so happy to have white trim back in the room (versus the old butter yellow colour), it just helps the space to look fresh and clean.
End of Status Check.
Seriously, that’s all I’ve done! Everything else is in limbo, and here’s why. On the window wall of Isla’s room I’ve decided that the best use of the space and what she’ll get the most use out of in the coming years is a wall unit and window seat. Here is my inspiration photo:
However, I’ve decided to make a few tweaks. I’d like both sides to be completely identical, thus I will be eliminating the secretary desk. I also wanted to fancy it up a bit, so it will get a little heavier molding around the top as well as some added pillars for interest. Here is what my wonderful cabinet maker over at Malaj Cabinetry has drawn up for me:
This will all be created in Benjamin Moore CC-40 (Cloud White) and will fit from wall to wall and from floor to ceiling. I’m very excited to see the end result, however will have to sit tight since this could take a while to be created and installed.
In the meantime I’ve been working away and pulling together the rest of the elements of the bedroom. I’ve decided that I’d like to add a little girly whimsy to the room by adding some fun gold polka dots to the wall where her headboard will be. I think I want to try and arrange the dots so that they look as if they’ve been shaken out across the top of the wall with some sprinkling down, much like this Pinterest find:
However, this sort of disorganization is not usually my style. I am more of a prim and proper type of mindset, and like things to be equally spaced and visually organized. Thank goodness the vinyl stickers I’ve ordered from Polka Dot Wall Stickers can be removed and moved. I may just end up with a wall that looks a bit more like this:
Only time will tell. So far I’ve ordered a ton of the 2″ gold vinyl stickers and eagerly await their arrival. According to USPS they’ve cleared customs, so they should be here any day!
Speaking of headboard wall, I’ve changed gears a bit on my plans for Isla’s actual bed. At one point I thought about using her existing crib, converting it to the double bed big kid version, and having our cabinetry maker paint it in matching CC-40. However, the more I thought about it, the more I thought I’d really like something a bit girlier and have been looking at upholstered headboards. Selection in Canada for this type of thing sucks, and while you can get lucky and make some great finds at HomeSense, it is purely dependant on luck. I did, however, find some decent looking pieces on the Home Depot website, including this gem:
Homedepot.ca Skyline Furniture Upholstered Headboard with Nailhead Trim
I’m also into these Pottery Barn finds:
Pottery Barn Chesterfield Upholstered Tufted Headboard
Pottery Barn York Tufted Headboard
No surprise, the Home Depot choice is much more economical, includes free shipping to my door and hassle free returns at the store just up the road. I’m thinking worst case, I order it and see what it looks like in person and decide from there.
Next up is lighting. We were left with this horrid acrylic sun light that not only looked awful, but let off very little light. I’ve been trying to scout out a piece that is (you guessed it!) girly, but also that ties in white and gold. I was also really into the capiz chandelier from my Candice Olson inspiration photo (see No Mexico, No Problemo! post) and hoped to find something similar. Well, I think today is my lucky day, as I’ve landed upon this piece by Serena and Lily that I am absolutely in love with (and love the price too):
I’ve also been dreaming up a little girl inspiration gallery wall- I just haven’t quite dreamt where I’ll be putting it yet! It’ll feature some funky prints, photos of Isla herself, and hopefully some modern charcoal ballerina sketches that I’ve tried to commission my talented sister to make! My inspiration are the incredible sketches Degas did of ballerinas, such as this one, Danseuse Assise Essayant Ses Pointes:
Still working on some inspiration for bed linens and window coverings- if you’ve got something in mind I’d love to hear about it!
At least that’s what I keep telling myself. Truthfully I couldn’t be more desperate to hit the beach. Temperatures here today have officially hit the “blow this popsicle stand” mark, hovering around -30 with the wind chill. However, since out of country travel is out of the question with this pregnancy, I’ve decided to keep myself very busy while my friends are away.
Not like we haven’t got a full enough plate with two babies on the way and all the preparation needed for them, I’ve decided that Isla’s room needs an overhaul, very desperately. We moved into this house about a year and a half ago, and have been busy completely redoing the main floor (more on that later). Since our house is mainly open concept, there was no hiding the garishness that we were left with, it HAD to be done, and right away! However, now that the first phase of the main floor is completed, I have decided that little Isla comes next.
I have been pouring over Pinterest, various blogs, and magazines to get inspiration for my little princess’ abode. I spent a lot of time designing a beachy themed nursery for her first room, however we left that behind when we moved to this new house. What we were left with in Isla’s current room were three walls painted a goldenrod yellow, one bubblegum pink wall, a large painted on chalkboard surface, a hideous green window covering, and a dim main light that resembled the sun. Here is her room pared down and prepped for painting:
“Isn’t that a lovely goldenrod?”- Said no person, ever!
Goodbye chalkboard!
More to come on my plans for this window wall
For some reason when I was planning her nursery I didn’t want it to seem to girly, even though I knew I was expecting a little lady. Clearly I was having one of those “cloudy judgement because I’m pregnant moments”, since half the fun of having a girl is all the girly stuff! Having said that, I won’t be running out to buy all the bubble gum pink accessories I can find. Some maybe, but not all.
I have decided to use this little girl’s room Candice Olson designed years ago that featured soft pink walls, white furniture, and gold accents as my inspiration:
Darling Pink and Gold room by Candice Olson
I have loved this room since the moment I laid eyes on it. However, I will be changing the look quite a bit to reflect Isla’s personality and interests. I have decided not to wallpaper, since my previous attempts at it were like inflicting some sort of slow, modern-era torture on myself. Bottom line, I suck at installing wallpaper. What I don’t suck at is painting. I’ve done a lot of it over the years (seriously a lot, we’ve lived in six houses already and I’ve been the sole painter at each one) and feel very comfortable doing it. Therefore, a little more Pinterest research and I was off to my favourite local paint store to pick up some Benjamin Moore swatches. (While I’m sure there are many other great brands of paint out there, Ben has never failed me. Their colours are almost always identical to the swatch, and the quality of the paint is lovely to work with and durable).
One thing I discovered from the knowledgeable clerk at my paint store is that many of the paints that are pinned are from the US Benjamin Moore stock (apparently our friends south of the border even have more paint selection!). She was able to dig out a set of US swatches, which is where we found: Pink Orchid, Blanched Coral, and Pink Cloud. I was told that while they are able to use the codes to make up these colours in Canada, they did not have a swatch that I could take home. I decided to get to work trying to match some Canadian colours to my favourite US ones, so that I could bring something home to take a look at. Here’s what I cam home with:
Benjamin Moore pink swatches
It didn’t take me long to rule out the bubble gum set of pinks- not the look that would get me the sophisticated girl’s room I was going for. I took some of my favourites down to test on various walls and in various lighting in Isla’s room:
Testing out swatches against the existing pink wall
…and against a yellow wall
I decided that I wanted to go very pale pink, so narrowed down my choices even further to Bridal Pink and Gentle Butterfly. I then went back to the paint store with both swatches to get their expert advice. I wanted to know what the differences were in the amount of colour ingredients used to make up each colour, since I don’t want any surprises with a rogue blue or purple shining through. It was explained to me that Bridal Pink would have a peachy undertone whereas the Gentle Butterfly would have red undertones. While I love a peachy undertone, I was afraid that it would clash with other pinks, or that the gold accents would bring out too much of the peach. Gentle Butterfly for the win!
One can of low-VOC Regal Select, one heavy-duty N95 mask and I was on my way. The Regal Select was recommended to me when I explained that this would be the room of a toddler, so I wanted something durable that could be wiped time and again. (And for those of your worrying about me painting while pregnant I can assure you that I have taken precautions including wearing a mask, cracking a window, and keeping on the external fan in Isla’s adjoining bathroom on as well as taking breaks and drinking lots of water).
I have since finished the first coat, and while it may not look like much right now, I can already see things coming together!
Looking forward to seeing the transformation after painting the doors and trim white…
…and after a second coat
I’ll be completing the second coat of paint tomorrow, followed by painting the trim (BM-Cloud White), and much more! Check back for more updates as this room progresses into something I hope little Isla will love.
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